The supply of public water to industrial facilities is and has long been a necessity for progress and efficient manufacturing and production. In addition, the need to provide a means for treating and discharging waste water used by industrial facilities has also been a concern, not only to allow the industry to run efficiently, but also because of safety concerns about the dangers of releasing contaminated wastewater into the environment.
Significant environmental regulations have been implemented to insure the safety and necessity of waste water treatment to protect the health of citizens whose water might be contaminated. Only recently have federal and local governments and regulatory agencies begun to recognize the necessity for also insuring that contamination does not get into the water supply through water inlet lines. To that end, many governments and regulatory authorities have begun to require the installation of backflow prevention valves in industrial facilities that protect against contamination of the public water supply by preventing industrial, or other, wastewater from “backflowing” out through the incoming line. In the case of a loss of pressure in the public supply, such as occurs during water main breaks or during utility line repair work, a loss of pressure at the incoming water line could result in industrial process water being pushed back out through the inlet. When pressure is restored, the industrial process water contaminating the water supply is pushed downstream to subsequent users. Backflow prevention valves have only recently begun to be mandated to prevent such occurrence.
As with any other technology, backflow prevention valves can only serve their purpose if they are properly maintained and operable. Thus, part of many of the laws and regulations compelling the installation and use of backflow prevention valves are requirements that the backflow prevention valves are periodically tested, typically annually, to make sure they are operating properly. While a boon to maintenance personnel whose job it is to insure proper operation and regulatory compliance, the testing of backflow prevention valves has proven to present at least one annoying problem to those maintaining them. Because of the infrequency with which the valves are operated (often they will go an entire year between tests without ever being operated), parts are worn out quickly and, significantly for purposes of the present invention, blockages resulting from sediment build-up or, most frequently, calcium deposits, can result in smaller areas of the backflow prevention valve through which the supply water flows. The problem associated with blockages formed from calcium deposits is particularly acute in the test cocks of backflow prevention valves. Typical backflow prevention valves such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,090 have four test cocks to which a valve tester is attached to check and confirm proper operation of the backflow prevention valves. By attaching three test hoses of a tester alternately at the four test cocks positioned on both sides of the two check valves in a backflow prevention valve, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,704, proper operation of the backflow prevention valve can be checked.
A problem that typically arises, however, is that the test cocks, mounted on the side of the backflow prevention valves, are a prime spot for the collection of calcium deposits. It is axiomatic that, if the test cocks are blocked, the tester, which relies on fluid flow under pressure through the test cock, will be useless.
Thus, it has become common practice for plumbers responsible for checking for the proper operation of backflow prevention valves to first “clean out” the test cock before attaching the tester. This “clean out” is difficult because the plumber must depress a piston while shoving a rigid wire down through the test cock. He knows he has been successful when water comes spraying out the test cock, which is the second problem. The plumber and his paperwork (data must be recorded for regulatory compliance) can get soaked in the process of cleaning out just one backflow prevention valve. To make matters worse, backflow prevention valves are typically difficult to access, coming in to an individual facility above ground so that the plumber is required to be on a ladder to “clean out” the test cocks and check operation of the backflow prevention valve.
There is thus identified a need for a tool that is portable and which may quickly and easily be attached to test cocks on backflow prevention valves that removes blockages therein allowing maintenance personnel to test the operation of the backflow prevention valve without getting wet from the fluid spray when the blockage is removed.